Robot Bastard! (2001)

Very well executed

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I remember a scene from The Sarah Silverman Program ("Mongolian Beef"): Brian breaks in on Steve while he's producing an ultra lo-budget video for YouTube. They have a little conversation in which it's pointed out that, while Steve's work may not be Oscar-worthy, the vast bulk of stuff posted to YouTube is worse. This makes Steve feel *much* better, and he carries on with his work.I loved Schrab's work on that show. I sincerely believe he's of the school where he doesn't see storyboarding/pacing/editing as a compensation for lack of funds: He sees them as essential, no matter what the budget may be. And I agree. And Robot Bastard does a pretty good job of delivering the dramatic goods. It's meticulously "content'ed" and paced, so the payload denouement is faithfully brought home.So, seeing how I've just written an apologetic tome regarding the production values, what about that story? I think it's great! The setup is straightforward, and it doesn't waste time following those gas lines to the TWO! TWO! TWO! truly surprising twists at the end!Add in the delight of seeing/hearing genuinely talented and creative acting/voice work, well-directed, and you've got a wild and warm sci-fi outer space robot shoot-'em-up!

This short-film from multi-talented director RobSchrab tells the common story of the beautiful daughter of the king (or the President in this scenario) being abducted and taken prisoner by some evil mastermind and now she needs to get saved from our hero. Only difference, the hero here is an orange robot. And it goes on like that, he makes his way through the enemy gates getting attacked by dozens of strange tarry creatures until he finally confronts the villain and gets the girl.I'm not the greatest sci-fi fan, but here and there I give the genre a chance and occasionally even find a movie which amazes me. Sadly, this one doesn't really fall under the category. It just lacks innovation and also starts to drag occasionally at 18 minutes running time. Still, if sci-fi or robots are your cup of tea, give this one a go and you'll surely end up liking it more than I did.

OK hater, thanks for the feedback. Who cares if it was good or not, at least the creator is doing something he loves. If you love hating, then it's a win-win I guess. As for my take; is it great? No, but I did enjoy it. It appealed to me on a sort of 11 year old sci-fi action level. Being a fan of the original Doctor Who I find it very easy to overlook the low budget look in favor of imagination. I thought the overall style was pretty cool and Robot himself looked great. Sure, some of the timing and jokes were off but it is sort of an off-beat film. I thought the overall idea was pretty cool and interesting and even the sense of humor was quirky if a bit rough. Too bad it's all that exists, but maybe that's a good thing (in a good way).

Robot Bastard is pure cinema. It made me realize how great short films could be. The costume and set designs, while all brilliant, are simple and old school. Robot himself is like those old robot toys from the early to mid nineties. And the mummies are slimy and simple.The script is also great. A simple line like "Die Robot DIE!" has never sounded better. The exchanges between Robot and Evil Robot are the best parts.Jeff Davis is great as the bad guy, and Robia is super cute in that school girl outfit. Anything I have ever seen that has had Rob Schrab related in some small way is brilliant. Watch out. When he starts making features he will rule us all!